Varieties of Self-Care: A Qualitative Look at Children's Experiences in the After-School Hours

In studies of the implications of unsupervised after-school time for children, consistent outcomes are not reported, perhaps because important variations among self-care arrangements are overlooked. A 4-year longitudinal interview study of 53 children and their employed parents explored variation among self-care arrangements and children's reactions to these arrangements. The children (31 girls, 22 boys) ranged in age at the start of the study from 7 to 12 years. Families were diverse in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and family structure. Variations occurred along many dimensions, including the range of activities and settings accessible to children, the extensiveness of children's after-school responsibilities, the availability of social supports, and children's interpretations of objectively similar after-school arrangements.